The present invention is directed to improved stocks for livestock, particularly horses. More specifically, the invention relates to portable horse stocks which are formed from a plurality of components which may be readily assembled and disassembled for ease in transportation and storage. The portable horse stocks include horse safety and other features to aid the veterinarian or attendant.
It is known to provide stocks that are portable by making the stocks with a sled design so that they can be pulled from one location to another. However, such stocks are not easily manuevered through doors, etc., and they require considerable space for storage.
An object of the present invention is to provide portable horsestocks which need not be formed with a sled design to be pulled about but which, instead, may be anchored in the floor or other surface where they are to be used.
A further object of the invention is to provide portable horse stocks formed from a plurality of components which may be readily assembled and disassembled for easy manuevering through doors, storage, etc.
An additional object of the invention is to provide improved portable horse stocks which permit the veterinarian or other attendant a great number of options as to the ingress and egress of the horse or other animal from the stocks while providing a high degree of accessibility to the confined animal for treatment or other purpose.
These and other objects are attained by providing portable horse stocks according to the invention which are formed from a plurality of components which may be readily assembled and disassembled for ease in transportation and storage. More particularly, the portable stocks comprise a pair of opposite side frames positioned in spaced relationship, a pair of opposite end members positioned in spaced relationship and extending transversely between the opposite side frames to define a space with the side frames within the stocks for confining a horse or the like, means releasably connecting the end members to the side frames to permit the assembly and disassembly, at least one of the end members being an end gate swingably mounted on one of the side frames for movement between an open position providing access to the space through an end gate opening and a closed position substantially blocking the end gate opening, and at least one of the side frames including a side gate swingably mounted on the side frame for movement between an open position providing access to the space through a side gate opening and a closed position substantially blocking the side gate opening.
The stocks further include means for adjusting the height of the side gate with respect to its side frame. In the disclosed, preferred embodiment of the invention the height adjusting means includes a pair of hollow sleeves which are slidingly positioned about respective upright members of the side frame. The side gate is swingably mounted at one end thereof to one of the sleeves and releasably connected by latching means at its other end to the other of the sleeves when the side gate is in its closed position. Means are provided for supporting the sleeves and the side gate in either a first lower position or a second higher position on the upright members of the side frame for accommodating animals of different sizes.
The sleeves each include a longitudinally extending slot formed therein to accomodate a latching lug on its cooperating upright member for latching an end gate in its closed position. The lugs also serve as stops for the sleeves to support the side gate in its lower position. Sliding sleeve guides are provided on the cooperating upright members so as to extend into the slots in the sleeves for guiding and maintaining alignment of the sleeves on the respective upright members.
The sleeve on which the side gate is swingably mounted includes two balance rollers at opposite ends thereof which engage the adjacent upright member to prevent the sliding sleeve from binding when it and the side gate are moved between the first and second positions. A spring biased fastening device is provided on each of the sleeves for securing the sleeves to the respective adjacent upright members to support the side gate in the second higher position. These fastening devices can be pulled out against the bias of the springs to allow the side gate to be lowered from the second higher position to the first lower position.
A pair of hinge pins is provided on one of the sleeves for swingably mounting the side gate with respect to the sleeve and its adjacent upright member of the side frame. Hinges on the side gate receive the hinge pins in a manner which permits the side gate to be readily removed from the sleeve by lifting the side gate when the side gate is in its full open position. A plate is attached at the top of one of the hinges on the side gate. The plate extends under a block attached on the sleeve provided with the hinge pins so that both the side gate and sleeve are lifted by lifting the gate when the side gate is in its closed. This arrangement prevents removal of the side gate from the hinge pins except when the gate is in its full open position. A spring loaded locking device releasably maintains the side gate in its closed position adjacent the other sleeve while coupling the gate and other sleeve so that both move in the vertical direction when the height of the side gate is adjusted.
The portable horse stocks of the invention further include means for adjusting the height of the at least one end gate of the horse stocks with respect to the side frames. In the disclosed embodiment the means releasably connecting the end gate to the side frames includes a pair of hinge pins which are provided on one of the side frames. The hinge pins are received in hinges on one end of the end gate for swingably mounting the end gate while permitting the end gate to be lifted off the hinge pins in its open position. A stud connected to one of the hinges on the end gate is received in a hole provided in the adjacent side frame when the end gate is closed to prevent the end gate from being listed off the hinge pins in the closed position by animal movement, for example. A second pair of hinge pins are provided on the side frame in vertically spaced relationship to the first pair to permit adjusting the height at which the side gate is swingably mounted on the side frame.
A latch is provided on the end gate for releasably securing the end gate in the closed position. The vertical position of the latch on the end gate is adjustable so that the latch can releasably connect the end gate to a single stationary latch on the side frame at different heights of the end gates with respect to the side frames.
In the preferred embodiment of the horse stocks, each of the end members is an end gate which is swingably mounted on one of the side frames for movement between an open position and a closed position and the side gate spans essentially the entire length of the side frame thereby permitting ingress and egress of the horse or other animal and also access to the animal from three different sides of the stocks.
The stocks further include means for anchoring the side frames thereof to the floor or other surface upon which the stocks are assembled. In the illustrated embodiment, this means for anchoring includes hollow tubular inserts which are at least partially recessed within the floor or other surface for receiving lower portions of the upright members of the side frames. A leveling collar is positioned between each of the upright members and its cooperating tubular insert. The leveling collars are connected to the lower portions of the upright members at locations which level the horse stocks.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purpose of illustration only, one preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention.